Who is in line for new, new PM?

I'd say it shows an utter lack of self-respect that any Tories would consider Boris coming back as a good thing, but based on the vox pops, if you repeat a phrase often enough 'Bring back Boris' or 'he got Brexit done' people start to believe it was their own idea. Though fair play to the Conservative Councillor on the news this morning saying that the only time she'd heard anyone say that was as a joke. And that's the nub of the problem. While some might genuinely think he's a prophet, maligned by those lacking in faith, most people see him as an utter liability. His backers lack the awareness to realise how bad it looks for the party that they can't think of anyone better.

Thinking about bringing back any ousted leader would be bad enough, but bringing one back that's got an outstanding hearing about breaching Parliamentary regulation, is incredible. He might think he'll wriggle out of it, but most people do think he lied to Parliament and to the people. And he made a mess of Brexit and of COVID and then he went on holiday for most of the cost of living crisis.

Bringing back a former leader isn't a new thing, indeed both Churchill and Wilson came back but that was after years and not merely two months.

It is true that Boris was an election winner both as a PM and Mayor of London but he had pitiful opposition, Starmer isn't great but he's more appealing to the public than Corbyn and Ken Livingstone. 
 

In the pharmacy for our Covid jabs yesterday, and an old boy in the queue was holding forth about the current political situation, and saying we should bring back Boris.

You're hired!!!

Can we not just let James Graham have a bash at actually being Prime Minister?

He will get shot of some of the more ludicrous appointments.

Cleverly is not of the stature to be Foreign Secretary though less dangerous than his predecessor in that role.

Coffey isn't up to any government role

The Whips Office clearly needs a shake up

Shapps needs ditching again. That man is just putty in the hands of his officials. No backbone or principles.

There are too many in Cabinet who should never have risen above PPS level.

But the same is true of the opposition benches

We really have very little brilliance in our political parties these days.

And this is the key problem.

I know Gordon Brown was not a popular Prime Minister, but I am put in mind of the BBC documentary about him. When the 2008 financial crash threatened to take the system down, Obama was able to confidently say ‘It’s ok, Gordon’s worked out a plan. He knows what to do about this. We follow his plan.’

And the major economies did indeed follow his plan. They could trust that the plan was good. And although the crisis was of course bad it was not so bad as it could have been. Total disaster was averted.

Can you imagine that with any of the current lot?
Not just the ability to come up with a plan to deal with a crisis in a way that actually mitigates its effects and doesn’t make it worse, but other world leaders having the trust and confidence to go ‘yup, we’ll do what you want’?

Uh huh, and everyone responded immediately the crisis didn’t drag on for months and months….

Nope, not going to happen for Johnson. Too soon, MPs not having it. At this rate he won't even stand.

2-3 times more expensive than any other country had implemented, which isn't necessarily the same thing. Ask the French, whose energy price increases are capped at 4% this year and 15% next year, whether they'd sooner have had the "generous" increase we got at the start of this month.

Thank God!